The major function of absorbent articles such as disposable diapers and adult incontinent briefs is to absorb and contain body exudates. Such articles are thus intended to prevent body exudates from soiling, wetting, or otherwise contaminating clothing or other articles, such as bedding, that come in contact with the wearer. A common mode of failure for such products occurs when body exudates leak out of the gaps between the article and the wearer's waist to adjacent clothing because they are not immediately absorbed within the article. This is most evident with loose fecal material which is not easily absorbed by the absorbant article and tends to "float" on the liquid-receiving surface of the absorbent article.
Contemporary disposable diapers have a topsheet, a backsheet, an absorbent core, elasticized leg flaps, and an elasticized waistband to improve both wearing comfort and the ability to contain body exudates. These elasticized waistbands prove effective generally to prevent wicking and overflow from the fluid laden diaper to clothing contacting the end edges of the diaper in that the elasticized waistbands provide a gasketing action about the waist of the wearer. Despite the effectiveness of the structures, however, body exudates, especially loose fecal material, can leak through the waistband portion of the diaper and soil the wearer's clothing because the diaper does not constrain the free flow of such material nor provide a structure to hold it within the diaper so that as such material freely floats on the liquid-receiving surface of the diaper, it tends to work its way past the waistband.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article which has improved containment characteristics.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article having a waistcap wherein the distal edge is raised above the liquid-receiving surface of the absorbent article when the article is fitted on the wearer such that a channel is formed to restrain, contain and hold body exudates within the absorbent article.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article having a unitary waistcap and waistband which act as a restraint against the leakage of body exudates.
These and other objects of the present invention will be more readily apparent when considered in reference to the following description and when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.